Isentia Blog - Australia

It comes as no surprise that traditional media is typically more trusted than digital options, but this should not mean you focus your media monitoring efforts completely on one or the other. Recent studies have shown that engagement is a crucial factor in social and new media, making it an ideal platform for having conversations with consumers. Supporting traditional media campaigns on digital and social platforms is a good place to start, as it allows consumers to join in the conversation and share their own opinions on the content. According to a 2015 study by Radio Ad Lab (RAL), there are... continue reading

Cockpit voice recorder found with useable audio from fatal plane crash in French Alps While the World Cup quarter finals were fairly one-sided and predictable, with all four favourites winning through to the semis, the first semi-final between a resurgent South Africa and a Black Caps team in white hot form was an absolute belter, coming down to the second last ball of the match as New Zealand chased down almost 300 runs after a brief rain break shortened the match to reach their first ever Cricket World Cup final. Australian mother and son Carol and Greig Friday were on board Germanwings... continue reading

With a brief political pause to honour the passing of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, everyone at the top resumed their places as now Independent Senator Glenn Lazarus dropped straight back out of the Top 20. NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley rises to sixth and Premier Mike Baird to third in the last days of the election campaign. In ‘normal’ times this election would be a foregone conclusion, with a popular Premier, strong NSW economy and sophomore bounce for many MPs countered by a significant correction from the record lows Labor achieved last time resulting in a swing of perhaps 10... continue reading

Having a corporate social media presence is crucial for keeping in touch with your customers and ensuring your brand's voice is engaged in the digital media conversation. However, not every social media account is all that it seems. In fact, many Twitter, Facebook and other profiles are not run by the named user at all. Instead, parodies, bots and trouble-makers post under a name chosen to create confusion or even cause damage to a brand. An example of this occurred in Malaysia last month, when a customer complaint provoked an unwelcome response from a fake profile. The Watsons Malaysia... continue reading

At least eight Australians missing in Vanuatu as Cyclone Pam tops media coverage Eight Australians are among a group of volunteers missing in Vanuatu, five days after Cyclone Pam tore through the Pacific nation. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says consular staff in Vanuatu are making every effort to contact and assist Australians in the country. Emergency aid has begun to reach some of the outlying islands, with hope that early warnings, concrete-walled homes and cave refuges have saved the region from a huge death toll. After a comfortable win over Scotland last Saturday,... continue reading

From the celebrity capers at the 2015 Oscars ceremony to the bullying of Australian politicians, trending topics can highlight the important issues being discussed by average consumers across the country and the globe. Trending topics are those stories being talked about the most. While primarily considered an online media function, it is possible for these popular stories to be published in newspapers, talked about on television and spread via other mass media channels. PR professionals can learn a lot from online and offline media trends. For businesses, this is an invaluable source of... continue reading

A seemingly innocuous image of a dress was uploaded on Tumblr by user “Swiked” aka Caitlin McNeill, calling on readers to “help” her decide if the colour of the dress was White and Gold, or Blue and Black. The dress not only caused polarized reactions between the user and her friends, but within days, the entire internet as well, splitting netizens into two camps of which saw a different pair of colours. Roman Originals, the UK company that sold the dress, reported a significantly higher than expected 347% increase in Friday’s sales, attributed to the attention created by the dress which led... continue reading

With the growing popularity of social media, even journalists are turning to platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to gather information about breaking news stories. However, could this reliance on user-generated content be causing a fall in reliable journalism? According to a recent report from the ING Group, one-third of journalists believe social media cannot be considered a reliable source of information, yet one-half claim these platforms are their primary resource. In fact, 78 per cent of journalists use social media every day and 68 per cent believe their industry would no longer be sustainable without social media. Of those... continue reading